


Coming Home to You

by Dandy



Category: Free!
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Hangover, M/M, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-30
Updated: 2015-01-01
Packaged: 2018-02-23 05:11:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2535398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dandy/pseuds/Dandy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Their apartment is small, but they all fit into it. Their lives are busy, but they still find time for each other. Their love is unconventional, but it's theirs.</p>
<p>Days in the lives of five boys trying to figure domesticity out together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Hangover

**Author's Note:**

> I don't feel like writing exposition here so:
> 
> Haru is in culinary school so he can keep rising as a chef.
> 
> Makoto is student teaching.
> 
> Rin is in the police academy.
> 
> Rei is still in school to be a mechanical engineer.
> 
> Nagisa is still in school and he doesn't know what he wants to do.

The last thing Rin wanted to be was awake.

His boyfriends didn’t seem invested in letting him sleep, however. He could hear banging in the kitchen like pots were getting knocked around, Nagisa laughing, Rei snapping at Nagisa to _stop whatever he was doing this instant_ , and Makoto talking amicably over the noise. At least Haru wasn’t noisy. Then again, he was probably the source of the banging pots.

Rin groaned and rolled over, pulling his pillow over his head as he went. His vision was swimming and his head was pounding and he felt vaguely nauseous – a hangover if there ever was one. At least they had been kind enough to draw the curtains so the room was dark.

He almost managed to fall back asleep like that, pressed into his mattress with the pillow muffling their noise, when the door swung open and someone came in and _bounced_ onto the mattress. No points for guessing who.

“Nagisa, stop,” he growled out, without moving the pillow. “’m gonna barf if you keep that up.”

“Whoops, sorry, Rin!” Nagisa said, not actually sounding sorry at all. He did stop bouncing, though, rubbing Rin’s back lightly. It actually felt nice. Rin moaned and pressed the pillow more firmly down on his head.

“Sit up, Rin-chan,” said Nagisa, and Rin heard clinking as he jiggled something. “I brought you breakfast.”

“Too nauseous to eat.”

“Rei was afraid of that, so he made you some bland oatmeal.” Nagisa went into his Rei impression. “It’s very important that Rin gets a balanced breakfast, _especially_ if he’s hungover.”

Rin huffed into the mattress before pulling the pillow off his head and sitting up. He gave the oatmeal one look, felt his stomach flip, and pushed the tray it was on back. “Get that out of my face.”

“No can do!” Nagisa crawled all the way onto the bed and sat back against the wall, the tray in his lap. “I have to make sure you eat every bite or I don’t get my strawberry pancakes!”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Riiiin-chaaaan,” Nagisa whined, making him wince. “You have to! Pancakes are at stake here!”

Rin picked the pillow up and pressed his face into it. “Fuck you. Fuck your pancakes.”

“Maybe later,” he said cheerfully. “Eat!”

Rin sighed and looked out at him with one eye. “I’ll give you a massage every night after your late shifts if you’ll dump that and tell Rei I ate it.”

“A tempting offer, but Rei-chan’s wrath is terrifying. You’ll have to do better than that.”

Rin rolled his eyes, because the last person Nagisa was afraid of was Rei, but _Rin_ was afraid of Rei and at Nagisa’s mercy.

“I’ll help you in your stupid prank war against the neighbor’s kid.”

“Keep going…”

“And next time we go out for dinner, I won’t stop you from ordering all the food you want.”

“Even if I want _two_ desserts?”

“Even then.”

“Mmmm… okay!”

Rin reminded himself once again that his boyfriend really was almost twenty and not the twelve-year-old he liked to act like as he watched Nagisa shovel the oatmeal furiously into his mouth. “What are you doing?”

“This is the only way to dispose of the evidence without getting caught,” Nagisa answered seriously.

Rin buried his face back in the pillow and ignored him as he ate, until the door opened again, and he and Nagisa both looked up in surprise.

“ _NAGISA._ ”

“Fuck, Rei, don’t shout…”

“Yeah, Rei, don’t shout,” Nagisa echoed, grinning, and Rei frowned.

“I should have known better than to let _you_ do this.” Rei stalked over, wrenched the bowl out of Nagisa’s hands and the pillow out of Rin’s grasp, then forced the bowl on Rin. “Eat.”

“Rei, seriously, I feel sick.”

“You wouldn’t if you had just stopped when we told you to.” Rei’s voice held not a hint of sympathy. “Now _eat_. You need nutrients and fluids.”

Rin grumbled several dirty words but finally took a bite of the oatmeal. It didn’t make him puke as soon as he swallowed it, so he supposed that was a good sign.

Appeased, Rei nodded in satisfaction and looked back at Nagisa. “Your pancakes are ready.”

“Yes!” Nagisa hopped off the bed and ran full speed out of the room. The other two watched him go, then Rei looked back at Rin. 

“Be sure you eat it all.”

Rin flipped him off. Rei just shook his head and walked back out, disappearing down the hall.

Rin slowly forced more of the oatmeal down over the next few minutes. Then, the bathroom door closed and Haru appeared in the doorway.

He was glaring _daggers_ at Rin, and Rin froze, not sure why he was caught in such scrutiny. What did he _do_?

“Haru?”

Haru said nothing. 

“What’s your problem?”

Haru continued to stare at him a moment longer, then he went down the hall to the kitchen. Rin just blinked after him. Weird.

He’d almost finished the oatmeal when Makoto came to the room, holding a glass and something else in his hand. “Mind if I come in?”

“Depends.” Rin eyed him warily. “Are you here to extort me?”

Makoto looked confused. “No?”

“Are you pissed at me?”

At that he laughed. “No. I just brought you some water and some asperin.”

Rin’s face lit up, and he set the bowl aside. “My hero.” Scooting over some, he patted the bed next to him, inviting Makoto over.

Makoto came and sat down next to him, looping an arm around Rin’s shoulders and tucking him into his side while Rin took the medicine. Rin sipped the water and leaned into Makoto’s comforting shoulder.

“Okay, I don’t remember anything from last night. Why is Haru pissed at me?”

“Ah.” Makoto looked somewhere between sympathetic and amused. “You threw up in the tub.”

“Oh.”

“While he was soaking in it.”

“ _Shit_.” That explained everything. Rin ran a hand through his hair. “Who cleaned it up?”

“Rei did.”

And _that_ explained why Rei was so pissy this morning. Rin sipped his water. “I feel bad for flipping him off.”

Makoto chuckled softly and ran a hand through Rin’s hair. “They’re mostly upset that you’re hung over _today_. It’s not often that we all have a day off together, you know? We wanted to make the most of it.”

“I know. Sorry. I just… got a little carried away.”

Makoto was silent a moment, then he said, “I wish I could say it was fine, but you don’t normally go overboard like that, Rin.” He looked him in the eyes. “Is there something you need to talk about?”

Rin winced. “No. It’s just job stress, I guess.” He looked down at his hands. “Some of the stuff we get called out to… sometimes I’m not sure I can handle it.”

Makoto cuddled him closer, and Rin let him. “You’re doing such a great job, though, Rin. And you know if you’re having trouble, you have all of us.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I know. You don’t have to go all after school special on me.” Rin leaned up and kissed the underside of his jaw. “It was a one-off, promise.”

“I hope so.” Makoto leaned down to kiss him more properly, then pulled off him. “Now, go get cleaned up. We’re going out in an hour.”

“Alright, fine.”

His head still felt like tiny hammers were chipping away at it, but his stomach had settled, and Rin guessed that was about the best he was going to get. He slid off the bed and headed for the bathroom, running into Haru right outside the door.

“No,” said Haru before he’d even said anything.

“I have to take a shower, Haru.”

“You soiled the tub. You’ve lost your water privileges.”

“Hey, I pay for this place too, you can’t do that!”

Haru ignored him, starting to go inside, and Rin grabbed his arm and pulled him back, twisting them so he was between Haru and the bathroom.

“I guess you’ll just have to supervise me to make sure I don’t do anything naughty, huh?”

“ _Rin_ ,” said Haru with a huff, but let himself be pulled after him into the shower, and even though it hurt his head, Rin laughed.


	2. TV Watching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes after a long day you just have to chill on the couch with stupid tv shows.

Makoto was seated at the table in the living room when someone dragged in the front door, kicking off his shoes. He looked up from the papers he was grading to see it was Rin, and gave him a smile.

“Welcome home!”

“Ugh,” was all Rin said in reply, shuffling over and flopping onto their ratty couch, reaching out to run his fingers through Makoto’s hair.

“Long day?” asked Makoto, shifting around until he was facing Rin. He gave him a kiss.

“Yeah. I had an assessment today. I think it went alright, it was just exhausting.”

“I’m glad it went well.” Makoto gave him another kiss, then swiveled back around to work on his papers.

“What’s on tv?” Rin asked, the words stretching out as he yawned. Makoto glanced up at it. A reality show was coming on, something about people trapped on an island.

“I don’t know. I just have it on while I’m grading.” He flipped a finished paper over, and adjusted his glasses. “You can change it if you want.”

“Nah. I’m just gonna fall asleep anyway,” said Rin, snuggling down on the couch and staring at the tv as the show went on. Despite his claims, however, he found himself getting more involved in the show.

“I can already tell, that guy, he’s gonna backstab everybody,” said Rin suddenly, and Makoto glanced up from his work to look. 

“How can you tell?”

“Well, look at him! He’s already playing that guy and girl against each other. And he _looks_ like a douche.”

Makoto tilted his head at the man onscreen. “He wears the same kind of tank-tops you used to wear all the time,” he observed, a slight grin playing on his face. Rin leaned up so he could grab a pillow and hit Makoto’s head with it.

“You’re supposed to be the nice one.”

Makoto laughed, fending off attacks with his arm. “I have to do _something_ to keep up with the rest of you.”

By the time Rin had finished his assault, the show had moved on. The group’s first challenge was up, something about walking across some rolling logs over the water. Rin wrapped the pillow against his chest as he watched, smiling when Makoto put his pen down and leaned back against the couch.

Just as the first challenge was reaching its climax, the door slammed open, and Nagisa’s voice called out cheerfully, “I’m home!” There was a brief pause, and then the smacking of feet as he ran for the couch.

Realizing what was about to happen, Rin scrambled to move, saying, “Wait, Nagi-“ but he couldn’t get the whole word out before Nagisa launched himself over the back of the couch and landed on his stomach. Rin groaned exaggeratedly in pain. “I said _wait_.”

“I _have_ been waiting! Class was so boring today.” Nagisa spread himself out on Rin, nestling his head against Rin’s shoulder. Rin made a show of being annoyed as he wiggled into a more comfortable position and wrapped his arms around Nagisa’s warm body. “At least I don’t have a shift tonight.”

“I’m glad,” said Makoto, and meant it – they were all about as sick of Nagisa’s fast food job as he was. 

“So what are we watching?” 

“Mm, just some reality show I had on while I was grading. You can change it if-“

“O-oi,” huffed Rin, then looked away when they both looked at him. “…I just want to see who wins the challenge.”

“Oh?” Nagisa squinted at the television, laughing when a contestant toppled off his log. “Isn’t this that show where they kick people off the island until there’s only one left?” He smiled teasingly up at Rin. “I didn’t know you liked this sort of thing, Rinrin.”

“I don’t. I’m just deep into it now, might as well see it through.”

Nagisa laughed. “I’m fine watching this if Rinrin’s so insistent, Mako-chan.”

“I’m not _insistent_ -“

“I’m interested, too,” said Makoto, before Rin got too defensive. “I don’t mind watching the rest.”

That seemed to settle both of them down, and they managed to keep watching in companionable silence, besides the occasional commentary from both Nagisa and Rin. A commercial a little over halfway through announced that there would be another episode of the same show on immediately after the one they were watching, and Nagisa declared that if they were going to be marathoning it, they would need popcorn.

Makoto went to oblige him, ignoring the argument that broke out between Rin and Nagisa about who was going to get kicked off: the girl who kept talking behind everyone’s backs or the guy who failed at anything survival related. He had just put the popcorn in the microwave when he heard a key in the lock. 

That was surprising – Makoto hadn’t expected anyone at home for another hour or so at least. Haru had left for work not too long ago, and Rei had late labs.

He poked his head out of the kitchen to see Haru standing there, slipping off his shoes. “Haru? You’re back?”

Haru answered him by sneezing into the crook of his arm, and Makoto flitted over to him worriedly. Nagisa’s face popped up over the back of the couch when Makoto said, “Are you sick?”

“N-“ Haru coughed, then shook his head. “It’s just a cold. They didn’t want me sneezing on the food.”

“Gross,” said Rin from the couch, and Haru gave a look in its direction, only smiling slightly because Nagisa waved.

“Come sit with us, Haru-chan! We’re watching Rin’s favorite show!”

“It’s not my favorite show!”

“I’ll make you some tea,” said Makoto, going to the kitchen again after he’d insisted on feeling Haru’s head for fever. Haru walked around the couch and grabbed Rin’s feet, pushing them back until Rin was forced to bend his legs around Nagisa’s, so Haru had somewhere to sit. In payback, Rin put his feet in Haru’s lap.

“Get your feet off me.”

“No.”

Haru grabbed one and tickled the arch of his foot, making Rin jerk and cuss and making Nagisa laugh. Rin started kicking Haru with his heel, until eventually Haru gave up and let the feet fall in his lap. Nagisa reached for him and Haru let him grab his hand.

“What is this?”

“Some dumb reality show-“

“Your _favorite_ show, Rinrin!”

“Is not! Anyway, it’s just some show where they vote people off the island, and the last one-“

“Shh,” said Haru suddenly, interrupting him, and Rin furrowed his brow, turning to see what on the television had captured Haru’s attention.

It was a waterfall.

“Seriously…” muttered Rin, before smiling mischievously at Nagisa. “Five bucks says he pops one right here.”

“Hmm…” Nagisa sat up in Rin’s lap and peered down at Haru curiously. “…No signs of life yet! But I guess they didn’t show it very long.”

“Hey,” muttered Haru, scooting away from them with a look, and right then Makoto returned, holding a bowl of popcorn in one hand and a cup of tea in the other, which he handed to Haru. He settled back down in the floor, looking curiously at Rin and Nagisa, who were laughing hysterically.

“What’d I miss?”

“Nothing, Mako-chan!” sang Nagisa, at the same time as Haru muttered, “Nothing.” Rin couldn’t stop laughing long enough to reply, but he did reach over Makoto to grab a handful of popcorn, Nagisa’s hand following soon after.

“Don’t get any on the couch or Rei will blow a gasket,” Rin advised, watching Nagisa cram the food in his mouth.

“Oh yeah, when is Rei getting home, anyway?” asked Nagisa, ignoring Rin’s warning and spraying crumbs everywhere in the process. “He’s missing the show!”

“Not for a little while longer. He has lab tonight.”

“Ah, too bad.” Nagisa pouted, but alleviated his pain by shoving more popcorn in his mouth.

The show’s first episode ended (Nagisa was right about who was kicked off, and he proceeded to rub it in Rin’s face) and the next one started. About ten minutes in, the door opened, and the last of them walked in.

Rei, backpack slung over his shoulder, looked at them all on the couch, sighed, and said, “ _Please_ tell me one of you made dinner.”

They all looked at each other, and then Haru said, “I’m sick. These guys are just lazy.”

“Ah, Haru-“ said Makoto, shocked, at the same time Rin and Nagisa burst into protests. Rei just listened to them all, and adjusted his glasses before running his hand down his face.

“Never mind, I’ve got it.”

“Hey, Rei, we’ll order pizza or something, just come here,” Rin yelled after him, raising a hand up over the back of the couch and gesturing. A moment passed, and then there was the soft thump of his bag being put down before he walked around the couch. He couldn’t help but smile at them, shaking his head fondly.

“You’re sick?” he asked Haru, bending down to kiss his cheek.

“It’s just a cold.” He sniffed, whether to punctuate that comment or because his nose was running, it was hard to tell. Rei frowned, trying to put a hand to his forehead, but Haru shook him off. “Makoto already did that.”

Rei chuckled. “We’re just worried about you, Haruka,” he said, before kissing his cheek again. Then he made his way to Rin and Nagisa (who complained in turn that he was blocking the screen while he was kissing the other one), and finally sat down by Makoto and giving him his kiss. Makoto moved his arm to tuck Rei into his side, and while Rei wasn’t much of a cuddler, he gladly leaned against Makoto.

“Long day?”

“Just a lot of classes. What are we watching?”

“It has waterfalls,” said Haru, then grumbled when Rin dug into his leg with his heel.

“It’s a reality show, the last one who gets kicked off the island wins!” Nagisa supplied over Rin and Haru griping at each other.

“A reality show?” Rei huffed contemptuously. “Nagisa-kun, you know everything in these shows is staged.”

“Don’t think so hard about it,” admonished Rin.

“Yeah, don’t ruin the illusion! This is Rin’s favorite show!”

“It’s _not_ my favorite show!”

“When are we ordering that pizza?” Rei asked Makoto, ignoring Rin and Nagisa’s squabbling behind him. 

“Hungry?” asked Makoto, nuzzling his nose into Rei’s hair. “You didn’t skip lunch again, did you?”

“I… might have been a little busy.”

“Rei-chan,” said Nagisa, leaning off the couch and putting his hands on Rei’s shoulders. “Eat with me tomorrow, I’ll make sure you actually do it!”

“I hardly need you taking care of me, Nagisa.”

“Clearly you _do_ ,” said Nagisa, and he actually sounded concerned. Rei sighed and relented.

“Alright.”

“We’ll order next commercial break,” said Makoto, moving the popcorn bowl closer to Rei for him to munch on. Rei grumbled something about eating junk food before dinner, but scooped up a handful anyway.

The show continued. A challenge started. Nagisa and Rin’s commentary slowed and then stopped. Rei stopped eating the popcorn. Haru occasionally sniffed or coughed but otherwise said nothing.

The next commercial break came on. Makoto shifted to find his phone, saying, “Hey, what do you guys want on the…”

Rei was asleep against his side, his head drooping and his glasses slipping down his nose. Makoto craned his head around, saw Haru asleep with his head against the back of the couch, still holding one of Nagisa’s hands. Rin had passed out with his arms wrapped securely around Nagisa, fingers knotted in his blond hair, while Nagisa drooled on his shirt.

Makoto took a moment to take the scene in, smiling fondly, and then he dialed the phone and ordered their usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's been obsessed with Surviver at SOME point in their life, right? Just me? Oh...


	3. Long Distance Birthdays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Rei's birthday, but three of his most important people are absent. He knows why, but that doesn't stop him from missing them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a flashback to the year Makoto, Rin, and Haru were already living in Tokyo while Nagisa and Rei were back in Iwatobi. Also known as the Dark Year (no not really). Written for Rei's Birthday Bash on tumblr!
> 
> I know they say that you retire from the club at the end of the summer season but I fudged that a little for the sake of cute silly team mentions.

Rei woke up two minutes before his alarm to the sound of his phone signaling a text. Yawning, he reached over to pick it up. A quick glance told him it was from Rin, and he smiled as he read the message.

_On my morning jog. Wish you were here. Happy Birthday Rei!_

He sighed a bit wistfully to himself as he turned off his now ringing alarm and swung his legs out of bed. He wished he were there, too, but with a few months of high school left to go, he simply couldn’t be. He knew Nagisa was as ready as he was – neither could wait to move into the Tokyo apartment their other three boyfriends shared, where they could all be together at last.

But they wouldn’t be all together that day, and perhaps that’s why Rei felt his smile at Rin’s text message fall. He’d had all year to prepare to miss them on his birthday, but like with their last relay, he still wasn’t sure he was ready.

He sent a reply to Rin then stumbled into his bathroom to take his morning shower, and by the time he got out he had another text. It was from Haru, and all it said was, _You’ll get the full size version later,_ with a picture attachment.

Curious, he opened the attachment, and felt something catch in his throat. Inside was a slightly blurry photo of a painting, featuring five gorgeous butterflies.

Rei let himself stare at it for a full minute before he shook himself out of his trance, replied to the message, and made himself keep getting ready for school. He couldn’t wait to see it. More than that, he couldn’t wait to see Haruka.

Thirty minutes and a birthday breakfast with his parents later, Rei was walking to the train station when his phone rang again, this time for a call. He smiled to himself when he saw Makoto’s name on the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Rei! Hello? Can you hear me?”

“Yes, I can hear you.” Rei frowned a little. Wherever Makoto was, it sounded noisy, and his voice sounded far away and static-y. 

“Ah, sorry! The reception’s bad here.”

Rei’s frown turned more puzzled. “Where _are_ you?”

“Ah, well…” Makoto chuckled nervously, then continued as though Rei hadn’t asked. “Never mind me. I called to wish you a happy birthday!”

“Ah, thank you!” Rei’s smile returned, but it was more strained than it had been. 

“How does it feel to be eighteen?”

“Mm… the same as seventeen.”

Makoto chuckled again. “We all have presents for you. I think Haru already showed you his?”

“Yes he did. It was very beautiful,” said Rei with complete sincerity in his voice. It was beautiful, and far away. They were all so beautiful, and so far away.

“We really wish we could be there, Rei,” Makoto was saying, and Rei forced the unbidden lump down his throat as he listened. “We really hate missing it.”

“It’s fine, I understand,” he assured Makoto, though his voice was shaky. He wouldn’t admit it to them, because it’d make them feel bad, but he’d really been hoping that by some miracle they would be able to be there for his birthday, like they had for Nagisa’s. But the stars had aligned so Rin and Makoto were out of school for Nagisa’s birthday, and they hadn’t for Rei’s.

That’s life, he told himself. No use getting upset about it. He’d had _all year_ to get over it.

“I know, but we really-“ There was a pause, and suddenly Makoto sounded frantic. “Haru, what are you doing!? Rin, will you- eh!?”

“Makoto?” said Rei into the phone, blinking as he heard static and whooshing noises on the other end of the phone. When Makoto finally came back, he sounded exasperated.

“I’m sorry, Rei, Haru didn’t get to take his bath this morning and he’s been eying the fountain at the train station, and I don’t know _where_ Rin went-“

“Train station?”

“-so I need to go. Happy birthday again, Rei!”

Rei could only stand on the platform for his train, blinking in bewilderment, as Makoto blew a kiss into the phone and hung up. That was very odd… and why were they all at a train station?

He puzzled over the strange occurrence as he waited for the train to arrive, up until he boarded and was immediately accosted by a whirlwind of blond hair and school uniform.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Nagisa cheered, seemingly unconcerned about if he knocked Rei down or not. Rei’s leg muscles were the only things that saved them both from falling to the train’s floor. The shorter boy stood on tiptoe so he could kiss the taller on the lips, and Rei blushed.

“Nagisa-kun, there are _other people_ on this train,” Rei hissed, out of propriety, but it was more habit than anything at this point. If anyone noticed or cared, they didn’t mention it.

Nagisa pouted, and that was also out of propriety more than honest hurt. “But it’s your birthday, Rei-chan! My present to you is that I get to kiss you all I want.”

“Are you sure that isn’t a present to yourself?” asked Rei with mock exasperation, but he was smiling. 

“I need something to cheer me up now that I’m not older than you.”

“Technically you’ll _always_ be older than me.”

“It doesn’t _sound_ like it anymore,” huffed Nagisa. “Don’t be so literal!” He started to tug Rei toward some empty seats.

“Well, in less than a year, you’ll get to say you’re older than me again.”

“Yeah, but pretty soon you’ll just get to gloat that you’re younger than me instead.” Nagisa sighed despairingly. “And then I’ll just be an old man.” He flopped down in a seat as though the burden of old age was already upon him.

Rei sat down next to him, shaking his head at his boyfriend’s antics. “And what will that make Haruka, Makoto, and Rin?”

“Dead.”

“I hope not. I’d be much too young to be a widower.” He sat down next to Nagisa, and reached for his hand, lacing their fingers together.

Nagisa leaned up and kissed his cheek again. “Did Haru-chan show you what he was painting for you yet?”

“Yes. He sent me a picture this morning. It’s very beautiful.”

“Bet’cha can’t wait until you see it in person,” said Nagisa cheerfully, but frowned when Rei tightened his grip on their hands. “Rei-chan?”

“I’m fine,” Rei bit out, forcing a smile. “I’m perfectly fine.”

Nagisa didn’t believe him. After a moment, he reached up and cupped Rei’s cheek with his hand.

“They wanted to be here today, Rei,” he said softly, and Rei nodded, not quite looking at Nagisa’s face.

“I know, and I know why they’re not. It really _is_ fine.”

Nagisa smiled and leaned up to kiss him again. “We’ll get to see them soon. I’m sure of it.”

“I know. I’m ready for it.” And he was about to leave it there, before he remembered his earlier source of bemusement. “Ah, by the way – earlier, when Makoto called me, he mentioned something about a train station but hung up before he could tell me why. Do you know anything about that?”

“Ah, nope! No idea why they’d be at a train station,” said Nagisa, shrugging, but something about this expression made Rei suspicious that Nagisa was lying. “Maybe they had a doctor’s appointment or something.”

“Doctor’s appointment?” Rei repeated.

“Hey, I don’t know! Do I look like their babysitter?” And now Rei really _was_ suspicious. “Anyway, Rei-chan, it’s our stop, so let’s go!”

Nagisa hopped up to get off the bus where they always did to jog to school, and Rei followed. Soon enough, he’d completely forgotten about any train stations.

...

Classes passed quickly enough. Gou greeted him at lunch with some cupcakes she’d made. They shared them amongst themselves and the rest of the swim team members that ate lunch with them, who were all eager to wish their captain a happy birthday. At practice (still going, courtesy of a membership to a local indoor aquatic center), they put on a small skit, which featured one of their first years dressed up exaggeratedly as Rei, with fake glasses five times too large for his face, wagging his finger at other members and snapping at them quips about theory and beauty, which Rei had to laugh at. It culminated in a group hug that ended with them all in the pool, and Rei pretended to be grumpy about it as he told them to stop goofing off and get back to practice. 

Overall, he’d had a good birthday up to that point, and as he walked to the train with Nagisa he felt happy. Not as happy as he had last year, when they’d all been there with him, but it was still an enjoyable day.

Which wasn’t over, as he and Nagisa had a birthday date planned. Not that Nagisa would tell him _where_ they were going on it – he’d insisted that it was a surprise every time Rei asked, and had only told him to tell his parents that he was spending the night at Nagisa’s.

It certainly _was_ a surprise when Nagisa suddenly angled away from the train station.

“Wait, where are you going?” asked Rei, hurrying to catch up after being thrown off by the sudden change in path. Nagisa grinned impishly up at him.

“Haru-chan’s house, of course!”

“What!?” cried Rei, stopping dead in his tracks. “But Haruka isn’t there, and neither are his parents.”

“It’s fine, Rei-chan! I got us a way in.”

“Absolutely not,” Rei argued, standing his ground. “I won’t intrude on someone’s empty house without permission, boyfriend or not.”

“Rei-chaaaan,” Nagisa whined, coming back to rub the top of his head pleadingly into Rei’s side. “Haru-chan won’t mind! I even know where the spare key is, so it’s not like we’re breaking in!”

“That doesn’t reassure me in the slightest.”

“Ugh, Rei, you can be so booooring sometimes,” moaned Nagisa, before pulling out his phone. “Here, I’ll call Haru-chan and get permission. _Then_ will you be happy?”

“Not really,” Rei replied, causing Nagisa to groan. “What do we need to go to his house for?”

“Because,” and here Nagisa stood on tiptoe, tugging on Rei’s shoulder until he bent his ear to be closer to Nagisa’s whispering lips, “I’m going to do things to Rei-chan for his birthday that I don’t think he wants his parents to hear.” And he nipped at the lobe of Rei’s ear in _just_ the way Rei liked, causing him to blush from the top of his forehead to the base of his neck.

“N-nagisa-kun, we are in _public_ ,” he hissed, knowing it was a futile argument because no one else was on the street. Nagisa only giggled, landing back flat on his feet again.

“Well, if you _really_ want, we can go do something _normal_ ,” said Nagisa, turning to walk back toward the train. “But what I had planned was _so_ much more fun-“

“Wait.”

Grinning like a cat who’d caught a mouse, Nagisa turned back. “Yeeees, Rei-chan?”

Rei was still blushing, furiously adjusting his glasses with his gloved hand as he answered. “I… I still think you should call Haruka for permission first.”

Clapping his hands over his victory, Nagisa pulled out his phone again, fumbling a bit for the buttons with his mittens before Rei took the phone from him and dialed himself. “Oooh, now you’re _eager_.”

“Hush, it’s ringing,” said Rei in response, before smiling a bit at the sound of Makoto’s voice (there was honestly no use in calling Haru directly). “Hello, Makoto, is Haruka there? …Yes, thank you.” 

A minute later and the requested permission had been granted straight from Haru’s mouth. Still feeling a bit worried about the whole thing, Rei walked hand in hand with Nagisa to the familiar house. It was dark inside, with no one home.

Nagisa knelt by a potted plant, long dead with no one to water it, and pulled a spare key out from under it. “See? Right there!”

“I can’t believe they’d leave a key like that. It seems very irresponsible,” groused Rei as Nagisa unlocked the door and they walked inside. “They’re out of the country, their son is in Tokyo, and under a plant is honestly the first place someone up to no good would look!”

“Yeah, you never know _what_ kind of hoodlums might get in,” called a voice, not Nagisa’s, and Rei whipped his eyes away from the grinning blond to look from the entry into the living room.

Rin, Makoto, and Haru all stood in a line in front of the table, wearing party hats and smiles. “Happy Birthday, Rei!” they said together.

Rei was momentarily stunned, standing still in the doorway. He worked his jaw like he was trying to say something but no sound came out, so Nagisa gave him an encouraging prod in the back.

Then he jerked back to life and stumbled up into the room, not even noticing that he hadn’t taken off his shoes yet. He half ran, half fell toward Makoto, pressing hard into his chest and reaching his arms out to throw them around Rin and Haruka, who both tilted inward so they could hug him back. He tried to speak, but could only gasp out words like, “How?” and “When?” between sobs he suddenly found he couldn’t hold back.

“We skipped classes and took the train here to surprise you,” Makoto explained, after pressing a hard kiss to the top of Rei’s head. 

“Yeah, and Makoto almost ruined it, too,” said Rin, disapprovingly, but he sounded a little choked up as he nuzzled his face into Rei’s shoulder.

Haru was pressing kisses all over Rei’s neck and shoulder, but he paused to say softly, “I wanted to give you your painting,” and Rei gave another hiccupping sob into Makoto’s chest before sniffling and finding his voice.

“But class, and work… you didn’t have to skip for me.”

“We have class every day, but your birthday only comes once a year, Rei,” said Makoto fondly. “And next year you’ll be with us, so we won’t have to do this.”

Rei stared up at him like Makoto had just promised him the moon, then he swallowed hard and ducked his face back into the safety of Makoto’s chest. Rin and Makoto laughed at him, though they both sounded a little shaky, clutching him back, as he muttered, “I missed you so much.”

“Hey, don’t forget me!” said Nagisa after letting Rei have a moment with them, coming over to obstinately try and burrow into the middle of the hug. They all laughed lightly at him, and Haru moved from Rei enough for Nagisa to get into the hug. He was a little teary-eyed as well (it’d been just as long as he’d seen any of their older lovers, after all) but it quickly cleared as he placed a kiss on whatever part of each of his boyfriends he could reach.

“So I suppose you were in on all this,” Rei asked him once Nagisa was done and he’d regained his composure. Nagisa nodded proudly.

“Yep! I almost told you on the train, though. You looked so sad!”

“By the way, what was all that calling Haru to ask permission shit about?” asked Rin, pulling back a bit to frown at them both, and Nagisa laughed.

“You know Rei-chan and _the rules_! You have no _idea_ the dirty things I had to promise him to get him to consider it.”

“N-nagisa!” squawked Rei, blushing, and it only got worse as Rin’s frown turned to a lewd grin and he leaned in.

“Oh? I think we’re going to need to hear some details,” he said, breath hot in Rei’s ear. Rei could only stutter out replies as Haru leaned in and nibbled on his earlobe the way Nagisa had done earlier.

“We have all night. That’s plenty of time for all of them,” Haru whispered, sending a shiver down Rei’s spine. He looked desperately to Makoto for help, but even Makoto was flushed.

“You’re here until tomorrow?”

“Yes,” confirmed Makoto, shaking himself to reply normally. “You told your parents you were spending the night, right?” Rei nodded. “Great.” He stepped back a bit, ignoring the whine from the others, and gestured at the table. “No reason to rush. We have dinner and cake and presents.”

“PRESENTS!” cheered Nagisa, breaking out of the hug to run around the table, and the others laughed at him. “Open them, Rei-chan, let’s see your haul!”

The others broke apart, Rei shaking his head as he came over to join Nagisa. The older three sat down as well, all clustered around him, not bothering to take advantage of the large room. 

“Honestly, all of us being together is enough of a present for me.”

“Drop the sentimental crap and unwrap your material goods, Rei-chan!” ordered Nagisa, dropping the first present in Rei’s lap before dropping himself in Makoto’s, and Rei could only smile as Haru snaked an arm around his waist and Rin rested his chin on his shoulder to watch him open his presents. All together, the way they should be.


	4. New Year's Eve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's almost midnight on New Year's Eve, and it's looking like Nagisa is going to miss it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick little addition for the new year!

Rin came home to good smells wafting from the kitchen and Rei, Haru, and Makoto in the living room hanging up black and silver streamers.

“Smells great in here,” he said in greeting, which earned him two calls of “Welcome home!” and one smile from Haru. Makoto finished pinning up his streamer and came over to give Rin, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. There would be no kissing on the lips this New Year’s Eve until they were all there.

“How long have they been at it?” asked Rin quietly, watching as Rei and Haru focused very seriously on getting a streamer to the right length. 

“Hours,” replied Makoto, sounding a bit tired, but then he quickly amended with, “Not that I mind, they’re working very hard.”

Rin chuckled. That was about as close to complaining as Makoto would ever get, but it was always funny to hear him talk like that.

“Haruka, those streamers are uneven, can you move them all to the left a little?” Rei was saying, and Haru nodded, hurrying over to do as he was told. Rin and Makoto both smiled as they watched. Haru normally called these kinds of things “troublesome,” but Rei (and Nagisa, for that matter) had a knack for roping Haru into helping him.

“And Rin, could you go check on the ozoni?”

“Ah, sure,” said Rin, and realized as he went to check on the soup that now it was _him_ Makoto was smiling at.

Well, it wasn’t like their younger lovers had any such effect on _him_. He just didn’t want their food to burn.

Speaking of the last of their five, though…

“When’s Nagisa getting here?” he called over his shoulder to whoever could answer. Makoto had gone back to helping Haru and Rei.

“His shift ends at eleven,” said Rei, “so he’ll only just make it in, but he should be here before midnight.” 

“I can’t believe they’re keeping that place open on _New Year’s._ Who’s going to want a burger tonight?”

“He needs a new job,” said Haru, and the others all gave a nod of agreement.

“As soon as I’m a real officer…” Rin trailed off. He really hoped he would be making enough that Nagisa could quit for a bit and find something better, but as it was they were barely making rent and paying their bills and keeping enough food for all of them.

“Well, we can worry about all that later,” said Makoto, keeping his voice cheerful to try and lift everyone’s mood. “Let’s finish these decorations and then eat.”

“We have to leave him leftovers,” said Rei, and Rin laughed.

“You might as well scoop half the food into a bag for him now.”

“I’ll make him a plate,” said Haru. He moved past them into the kitchen, kissing Rin’s cheek before turning his attention to the almost finished food.

“Rin? Come help me with this last streamer,” called Rei, and Rin headed back into the living room.

…

Nine minutes to the new year, and Nagisa still wasn’t home. 

They’d all called him multiple times, even Haru, but every attempt went straight to voicemail. “His phone’s probably dead,” said Rei, after a few tries. “I noticed he forgot to charge it last night.”

“Great.” Rin sighed. “He’s going to miss midnight if he doesn’t hurry.”

“I just hope he’s alright,” said Makoto, looking out the window that overlooked the street below. “Maybe we should go look for him.”

“Give it a few more minutes,” said Haru, though he also came to look out the window.

Ten minutes passed. Through the walls, they could hear the people in the next apartment over cheering. Off in the distance, at one of the shrines, they could just see fireworks going off.

Rei was pacing by the door, and as the clock crept closer to 12:10, he went to go grab his coat.

“I’m going,” he announced. Makoto and Haru turned away from the window while Rin jumped up.

“Wait, I’m coming with you,” he said, coming around the couch and grabbing his coat too. Rei nodded at him, but just as the two got their coats all the way on, they heard feet running outside and then a key in the lock.

Everyone froze, and then the door burst open.

“I’m home!” Nagisa gasped, panting. His cheeks were bright red from cold and exertion. “I ran all the way here- train got stalled, they had to stop for over half an hour, my phone was dead so I couldn’t call- did I miss it!? I didn’t miss it, did I?”

Rei, Haru, and Makoto all glanced around at each other, but Rin said easily, “Nope, you’re just in time. One minute left!”

Catching on immediately, his other boyfriends all nodded in agreement, and Nagisa sighed in relief.

“Made it.” He grinned. “Then what are we waiting for!?” 

The others laughed and moved around him, forming a circle. They all wrapped their arms around each others' shoulders.

“Fifteen seconds,” Rei announced, looking at his watch. “…Ten, nine…”

They counted down together, yelling out the “One!” as they got there, and then they all fell on each other, kissing whatever parts of each other they could get to. It was a bit difficult, with an odd number, to do a midnight kiss, but they all moved so fast and frantically that no one felt left out as they rang in a new year.

Later, after they’d left a trail of clothing from the living room to the bedroom, after they’d all collapsed, spent, sweaty, happy, into bed, Nagisa snuggled down right in the middle of all of them and sighed in contentment. It was nice, he thought, to have boyfriends who were willing to lie just to make him happy.

And if their year was a few minutes off everyone else’s, well, that was just alright.


End file.
